Gwendolyn and Stefan love to try new things. Not like... sex things, but
like lifestyle things. Take, for example, Gwendolyn decided last week that
she would love to see what life was like if she and Stefan only shared one
bowl, plate, cup, fork, knife, spoon, and pan for a month. She didn't really
have a good reason for why at the time, it's not like she read it in a
magazine or anything, but they're young and into wacky stuff like that. Stefan
always participates in these and likes talking about their adventures as
they're happening, but never proposes ideas of his own.

Gwendolyn requires that people use the full Gwendolyn and not Gwen and has
been known to halt conversations if people don't. She feels was confident
that she loves Stefan three times more than he loves her. She wasn't sure why
she felt that way, or where three times came from, but it had always been her
hunch. Since she's never been able to confirm or deny it, she has kept on
believing it; this puts her in an artificially smug mood whenever she
sacrifices something for Stefan, like the 5% markup on the organic foods
because he prefers them.

Stefan previously refereed to her as Gwen internally but forced himself to
adapt after a few preventable meltdowns. He hasn't ever really considered how
much he loves Gwendolyn, but he regularly thinks about the house they'll buy
together in a few years. There isn't actually a specific house they're
thinking about, but he still enjoys the fantasy; some women dream of their
wedding day and Stefan dreams of his move-in day. Year after year they've
stayed in the same mid-town loft and will never did move into that house.

They both definitely love each other to the extent that any
twenty-somethings can love one another while still collectively managing to
avoid the question of marriage. They will eventually break-up, not because of
any one event or central cause, but because people grow up and grow apart.
It's never anybody's fault, it's just how the wind blows. Some people's
connections are able to persevere that inevitable break, but this connection
will not. Gwendolyn knows this and in the back of her head is already thinking
about why a breakup would be best for them. Stefan has thought about it once
or twice but doesn't really want things to change. He likes spending his life
with Gwendolyn and feels like they do share a really close bond, even if that
bond is largely based on things like sharing one bowl, plate, cup, fork, knife,
spoon, and pan for a month.

That said, the sharing-one-of-everything thing is working out pretty well.
Gwendolyn hasn't gotten any of their friends to try it but she really feels
like she's looking at food and meals in a whole new light. Stefan thinks it's
a neat idea, but is looking forward to the end of this month. He would
never tell her that though. He loves her too much.